That may all be true. But it’s also true that the Graichen family is so firmly anchored in Habeck’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK) that one involuntarily thinks of an octopus with eight arms and the associated suction cups. The Graichen clan, with its close ties to the “eco-industry”, has turned Ludwig Erhard’s former ministry into a family business.
Actually, you need an organizational chart to represent the Graichen Kraken. The State Secretary’s sister, Verena, works at the Öko-Institut, a green front-line organization that lives on million-dollar orders from the federal government. Graichen’s brother Jakob also has a job there. Verena Graichen, in turn, is married to Habeck’s parliamentary state secretary, Michael Waiter, who was once the managing director of the Green Party and campaign manager for the eco-party.
So when Habeck’s BMWK places orders with the Öko-Institut, it can be described as a family business. Such deals are considered highly controversial in business because there is always a risk of abuse.
In the case of the Graichen family, this is said to be impossible because the ministry is said to take a close look at orders from the Öko-Institut. One cannot help but wonder which subordinate official would dare to smack the powerful Secretary of State on the knuckles.
Habeck’s State Secretary Graichen does not forget his friends
Habeck’s state secretary doesn’t just think about his own family, he doesn’t forget close friends either. Graichen has now informed his boss that Michael Schäfer, who is intended to chair the management of the federal German Energy Agency (dena), was his best man. Worse still: Graichen was a member of the selection committee that proposed the former Green politician Schäfer to the dena supervisory board as the new first man.
Even Habeck could no longer simply wave through this green nepotism – also known as nepotism. “The appearance of a possible bias cannot be completely ruled out,” his ministry said. The minister then asked for an internal review at the beginning of the week. The dena Supervisory Board will comply with this.
The Federal Ministry of Economics has always been a highly respected institution
The Ministry of Economics has never been as important as it was in the days when Ludwig Erhard, as the first Federal Minister of Economics, paved the way for the German economic miracle. But later, after losing important powers to the Ministry of Finance, it always remained a highly respected house with outstanding economic politicians such as Karl Schiller (SPD), Otto Graf Lambsdorff (FDP) and Wolfgang Clement (SPD).
It was valued for its analyzes and concepts as well as its highly qualified employees. Under Habeck, on the other hand, it has degenerated into a green self-service shop.
One almost has to admire the chutzpah with which the Greens are looting the state here. You don’t often see that kind of audacity in politics. Apparently it corresponds to the feeling of hegemony anchored in the Green DNA. In the firm belief that they are morally superior to all others and undoubtedly belong to the “good guys”, the Greens act like in a parallel society with their own structures and laws.
Habeck doesn’t mind
Whether Habeck simply accepts all this or even encourages and promotes it is difficult to say. In any case, the clan mentality in his closest surroundings doesn’t seem to bother him in the long term. Otherwise he wouldn’t have raised Graichen to the rank of savior of the nation, who obviously can do anything.
Habeck, who holds a doctorate in literature, claims to adhere to a “pragmatic idealism”. Well, letting Graichen and “Family and Friends” rule and rule seems to be pragmatic. However, the house colored in green no longer corresponds to the ideal of a well-run ministry that is primarily committed to the common good (instead of one’s own well-being).
As is well known, not everything was better in the past, but some things were. Jürgen Möllemann, one of Habeck’s predecessors as economics minister, had to resign in 1993 because he had advertised a business idea (shopping cart chips) from a cousin of his wife on the ministry’s letterhead. The decisive difference: Möllemann was an FDP politician and – unlike Habeck – was never seen as a shining light.
Incidentally, with Habeck and Graichen an old adage holds true: Most people have two types of morality – one for themselves and one for others.
